Testing Underway On Auraria Campus After Multiple Cases Of Cancer

DENVER (CBS4) -- Testing is being done on the Auraria campus in Denver after several cancer cases were reported in the same suite of offices the West Classroom building for Metro State faculty.

Andy Traver has an office there.

"I'm actually a cancer survivor and work in west classroom building," he told CBS4's Rick Sallinger.

He is on the faculty and was one of those attending a so-called town hall meeting about the cancer reports. They were told it was last week when a faculty member who works in the West Classroom building got the bad news.

Larry Sampler is a vice president of administration for Metro State,

"She had just literally that day discovered she had been diagnosed with a very aggressive form of breast cancer," he told those gathered for the standing room only meeting.

He said the woman explained another female faculty member had breast cancer, a third another had liver cancer. And two years before, a staff member died from lung cancer.

All worked in the same suite of offices. That raised the issue was there something there that may have caused it.

Sampler said there is no indication of that so far.

"We literally have no data that suggests that building is unsafe."

It's summer now, but faculty comes back in mid-August then the students like Braedan Weart.

"Initially, when I walked in, I had concerns but when I walked out I was pretty confident," he said after attending the meeting as vice president of the Istudent body assembly.

The decision was made there was no reason to evacuate the West Classroom building. Traver, an executive in residence in the criminal justice department sees no need to worry.

"I can understand the concern and know university is doing everything it can to investigate the matter."

Test results are expected back by August 6, in time to make any adjustments before the fall term begins.